Friday, November 29, 2013

You've probably started your Christmas crafts already, but there is always time for more fabric slashes and stitches
to round out the holidays. I'm making some fruit Christmas
ornaments from cotton, satin and felt scraps and thought I would share them with
you. These are made entirely by hand, so you can make them while watching
television or chatting. You'll need a needle and thread and fabric scraps.

My grandchildren are 2 this year, so
not all ornaments are safe, and the wire hangers we all use are especially
unsafe for little ones. You can make ornaments small children can enjoy by using
fabrics and thread, with thread hangers. As the children get older, you may want to add decorations
that you can't use now -- buttons, beads, sequins or rolling eyes. You still have to watch a small child with any Christmas ornament, especially if he still put things in his mouth.

These are all simple, but original
patterns and ideas you are welcome to try.

Start with scraps of fabric and
choose some shapes you'd like to hang on a tree. A large tree will need
full-size shapes; a small tree can use small ones.

Here are some of the fruits you can
make, with a little imagination: Strawberries, apples, lemons, cherries,
tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, oranges, and maybe
grapes, with lots of patience.

Tomato or Apple Christmas Ornament Handmade

Could these be Grapes? Need Several to String Together

All the round fruits take a full
circle, just like yoyos. A 2 or 2 1/2 inch diameter
circle makes smaller fruit, and a 3 1/2 inch circle makes larger pieces of
fruit.

Choose a color that resembles the
fruit, but it doesn't have to be solid colors. Cherries, strawberries, tomatoes,
cherry tomatoes, red apples can be made from shades of red fabric. Represent
lemons and star fruit with yellow, and grapes with purple or green.

Cut the circles for the size fruit
you want to make, except for the strawberries. Use a larger circle cut in half
and make two strawberries from one circle. See more directions below for the
strawberry.

Fold about 1/4 inch at the wrong-side
edge of the circle and secure the thread with a couple of stitches on top of the
knot-- you'll be pulling on it later and need it to be anchored. Stitch around
the circle with wrong sides together until you get all the way around. For a lemon, I take a few tacking stitches in the center to resemble the bottom and use a round green circle for the top.

Cut a Circle and Stitch Around It for Round Fruit Ornaments

Completed Lemon with Stitching Gathered Tight at Top

For the strawberry, fold a half
circle in half with right sides together and stitch up the side. Tack. Fold
about 1/4 inch of the raw edge at the top, wrong sides together and tack the
thread. Straight stitch around the semi-circle until you're all the way around.
Turn the strawberry so the inside can be stuffed.

Strawberry Requires Half a Circle Stitched Closed

Strawberry Christmas Ornament with Star Cap

I use felt for filling the fruit --
scraps, strips, small pieces left over. Once the fruit is stuffed, pull the
thread to gather it tight at the top. Take a few stitches to secure it, then add
a top piece. A cap for a strawberry or tomato looks like a star, or you can add
a stem for an apple, or leaves.

Cap for Tomato, Strawberry Christmas Ornaments

Secure the top, then loop the thread
two or three times to make a hanger for your fruit. Tack the hanger loops in
place and cut the thread.

Your fruit Christmas ornaments don't have to look real. You can make fictional pieces and let the children imagine what fruit they represent. Children love magic, and may find that the best Christmas ornaments don't represent anything they've ever seen.

Start with a Fabric Circle and Stitch Around the Edge for Gathers

Complete a Fictional Fruit with Christmas Colors

We hope you get pleasure from crafts and creating safe and inexpensive Christmas ornaments, and that you have a wonderful Christmas season!

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About Me

An antiques and collectibles appraiser for more than twenty years,
Linda Richard has written extensively about pottery and glass. Prior to
completion of ISA requirements for appraisal work, she was a brief
writer and legal researcher for 25 years, specializing in medico-legal
issues and litigation.

Linda writes about antiques and collectibles, senior citizens, consumer issues, needlework
crafts, home and garden and has over 1,500 articles available online,
along with the Retirement Living Guide series of ebooks.

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